Why are Refugee Children Shorter than the Hosting Population? Evidence from Camps Residents in Jordan

The literature on children’s health inequalities in refugee camps in Jordan remains sparse. We noticed a marked height difference between Palestinian children living in the refugee camps and children of the remaining population in Jordan. Children living in refugee camps are significantly shorter than the rest of the children in the hosting population. This paper explores the drivers of the height gap, measured by the height for age z-score, among children residing in refugee camps and the non-camp residents. A Blinder- Oaxaca decomposition is used to quantify the sources of the inequalities between the two groups into two components; one that is explained by regional differences in the level of the determinants, and another part that is explained by differences in the effect of the determinants of the child nutritional status. Our results suggest that the endowment effect dominates the coefficients effect. More specifically, the height gap is mainly driven by wealth disparities between the two groups. Poverty alleviation programs such as conditional cash transfers and microfinance to camps’ residents are likely to reduce the child malnutrition gap.